“whether Earthly life arose by natural selection” was a bad example of Eliezer’s.
Natural selection does not account for how life arose, and dubitably accounts for how even the diversity of life arose*. Natural selection accounts, and only accounts, for how specified (esp. complex & specified) biological artifacts arose and are maintained.
An infinitely better example would have been “whether terrestrial life shares a common ancestor,” because that is a demonstrable fact.
*This has probably mostly to do with plate tectonics carting around life forms from place to place and with genetic drift.
“whether Earthly life arose by natural selection” was a bad example of Eliezer’s.
Natural selection does not account for how life arose, and dubitably accounts for how even the diversity of life arose*. Natural selection accounts, and only accounts, for how specified (esp. complex & specified) biological artifacts arose and are maintained.
An infinitely better example would have been “whether terrestrial life shares a common ancestor,” because that is a demonstrable fact.
*This has probably mostly to do with plate tectonics carting around life forms from place to place and with genetic drift.